Music streaming services are fantastic at doing a lot of things. They’re generally affordable, they offer millions of songs a tap away, and they are superb for discovery and socialization. That’s why services like Spotify have nearly 700 million monthly active users, and competitors like Apple Music have over 140 million monthly active users.
The way you interact with these streaming services is usually through a first-party app, like Spotify or Tidal on the Google Play Store or Music on iOS. There’s one small problem with that, though. When streaming services try to cater their app to meet the needs of nearly a billion people, these apps are unlikely to meet the specific needs of you.
That’s why you should consider keeping your preferred music streaming provider, but giving your music player app a facelift. Usually, we think of custom music player apps from Android as being alternatives to streaming. That doesn’t have to be the case.
There are apps that can tap into services like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube Music, and many more — all while providing a more custom and thoughtful listening experience. That’s in addition to classic options that leverage audio files stored locally on your device. Over the past few months, I’ve slowly replaced multiple default music streamers with third-party alternatives, and I think they’re worth your time.
Poweramp is a fantastic on-device music player
Starting simple, Poweramp is an excellent and well-known local music player for Android. It’s ideal for people who don’t depend on streaming services for music playback. It could come in handy if you have a large physical media collection that you’ve transitioned to digital, or for those who prefer high-fidelity source material, like FLACs or ALACs.
In other words, if you already have the files, Poweramp can play them — no streaming service required. There’s a free app, but you’ll probably want the paid version that costs a few bucks. It’s a one-time fee compared to the perpetual charges from a streaming service.
Poweramp comes with a lot of features that span use cases far beyond what I require. I opened up my wallet for Poweramp because of its customizable user interface and design language, which includes options to overemphasize, deemphasize, or disable Material You colors entirely. Of course, I also enjoy the complete support for hi-fi audio, since most of my files are 24-bit, 44.1KHz ALAC.
It’s impossible to list music player alternatives without mentioning Poweramp. However, it’s definitely more of a local player than a streamer, even if it does support radio streaming. Considering Google Pixel phones don’t have a default music player app and Samsung Music isn’t pre-installed on Galaxy phones anymore, there’s a need for a third-party option now more than ever.
Echo is a free, open-source app for streamers
For streamers, the alternative music player app I recommend is Echo. It’s free and open-source, and really is the best of all worlds when it comes to music playback. Echo can handle on-device playback from local files, and is built upon integrations with streaming services as well. The app is extension-based, and you can install extensions for streamers, lyric providers, social apps, and more.
Echo offers extensions for Deezer, iHeartRadio, Radio Browser, Saavn, Spotify, TuneIn, and YouTube Music. There’s Jellyfin support, so you can stream music from your home server or NAS with the Echo app for Android.
Integration with Lastfm means you can sync data between the Echo player and the tracking service. Rounding out the experience is a long list of lyric database extensions, including Musixmatch and Genius.
What’s fantastic about the Echo app is how it offers quick access to a variety of streamers in one place. You can see your on-device files and streaming library all in one place, or choose to only view specific extensions. So, I can tap the Spotify extension to view my library there, or switch to YouTube Music, or rely on my saved offline files. That’s all in just one app.
The customization features are another benefit, as I detest the look of certain streamers, like YouTube Music and Spotify. With Echo, there’s one look for all my streamers. Personally, I think this is the best way to play music on Android, especially if you use multiple music sources.
Albums is an Apple Music client that puts your catalog first
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Albums, the Apple Music client for iOS that sent me down this rabbit hole in the first place. I’ve almost completely replaced the stock Music app on iOS with a beta version of Albums, which is essentially a remote control for your Apple Music library.
It puts the emphasis on albums and their covers, rather than social clutter and discovery features. It’s like a modern version of Cover Flow on iPods, and offers the perks of streaming without all the extras. You can also favorite albums in a separate view, which I love as a hater of playlists.
Why it makes sense to ditch your default music streamer
Music is only part of the reason player apps from streaming services exist. They’re primarily centered around discovery of new music and social features that cultivate sharing — the more you find and share, the longer you’ll stay subscribed and the more likely your friends will, too. It’s why Spotify shipped DMs before lossless audio.
That’s why we should get back to the basics with a new music player, like Poweramp, Albums, or Echo. You can have all the perks of streaming without the drawbacks, or use both a default and third-party app in tandem.
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